


Five Reflections On The Queen

by SecondStarfall (beantiger)



Series: The Second Starfall Stories [27]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Anxiety, Drabble Collection, F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, Fairy Tale Style, Fantasy, Female Friendship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Loss of Parent(s), M/M, Medieval, Microfic, Multi, Nonbinary Character, Originally Posted Elsewhere, Royalty, Weddings, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:34:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22584133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beantiger/pseuds/SecondStarfall
Summary: She drinks because she knows that the tower of her life will fall, and her eyes cannot show it.***Five memories from the mind of a queen.
Relationships: Original Character/Original Character/Original Character, Original Female Character/Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Series: The Second Starfall Stories [27]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1582975
Kudos: 8





	Five Reflections On The Queen

**Author's Note:**

> This is a version of the original Twitterfic, same title, posted over at my now-deactivated personal account in February 2020. It has been given fairly moderate edits for consistency with other stories and readability on AO3. ❤️ 
> 
> **RECOMMENDED RE-READING:** Meet Alexandrine in ["A True History of True Sight."](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22097629) She married in ["Dragon, Dragonfly."](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22056346) And Simone Hugo plays a role in ["The Werewolf's Very Lucky Plan."](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22415860)
> 
> ✨ [[see the full SecStar timeline](https://secondstarfall.com/index.php/Official_Timeline) | [check out the SecStar wiki](https://secondstarfall.com/)] ✨

**ONE.**  
When her beloved botanist marries, the queen Alexandrine allows no one to prepare the botanist’s hair. In fact, the queen learns the intricacies of wedding braids herself. As she twines Valériane’s locks, she often curses and leaves the room until her hands cease shaking.

***

**TWO.**  
“Simone Hugo is a werewolf,” says the chief of the royal guard. “The kennelmistress’s daughter—she’s mostly harmless—”

“I know,” the queen replies. “No one would remain here who was not mostly harmless.”

The queen’s left eye twinkles as she sips her coffee.

***

**THREE.**  
Alexandrine ascends to the throne, and the average age of the castle staff drops to twenty-five. Petty lords begin to call the royal capital the House of Infants, but Alexandrine feels no need to explain herself. One of those lords, after all, had poisoned her father.

***

**FOUR.**  
Letters pass between Alexandrine and her Papa—her father’s consort, the person who birthed her. The words are curt, the news brief and polite, the memories flattened with time. It is the sort of correspondence one exchanges with a childhood friend one has long outgrown.

***

**FIVE.**  
She drinks because she knows that the tower of her life will fall, and her eyes cannot show it.

One husband says, “Fate cannot touch a queen.”

The other: “There's no such thing.”

She tries to determine which idea frightens her more, and they stroke her trembling fingers.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment or a kudos or whatever the heck if this tickled your fancy. There shall be more! ❤️ Also, please let me know what other characters, relationships, or places you'd like to hear about. I have lots of ideas, but I'd enjoy writing a few stories for y'all as well.
> 
> ✨ [[see the full SecStar timeline](https://secondstarfall.com/index.php/Official_Timeline) | [check out the SecStar wiki](https://secondstarfall.com/)] ✨
> 
>  **AUTHOR'S COMMENTARY:** As a challenge, I wanted to write a few scenes the length of a Tweet, and this was the result. I like them, personally, though there's a few ideas in here I want to expand upon at some point.
> 
> Alexandrine's a functioning alcoholic for part of her life, although I imagine she kicks it (mostly) towards middle age. I think of her as a neutral good Cersei Lannister...without the incest, of course. That always comes as a surprise to people, especially since I also describe her as a good queen. A good queen, however, is not necessarily a nice queen, or a flawless one, or even one that most subjects like.


End file.
